Leadership problems remain at school - Ofsted

Wemms Education Centre is a school for children with additional needs

A school for children with additional needs where Ofsted previously found a "culture of discrimination" still isn't meeting standards in its leadership and management.

Inspectors visited Wemms Education Centre, in Long Ditton, and raised concerns about tensions among trustees and an "unsettled" period at the school.

They said changes in the curriculum, safeguarding and information shared with parents had been positive at the establishment.

Wemms was contacted for comment.

The £50,000-a-year school was given an "inadequate" rating after an inspection in May 2023.

Inspectors described it as a "deeply fractured community" where some pupils "feared reprisals" from some senior staff if they reported concerns.

In its latest report, Ofsted said staffing changes meant a newly-formed leadership team was "united and are bringing much-needed stability".

But they said there was still an overreliance on using external consultants to support leadership and management, and that external consultants previously carrying out independent reviews of the school were connected to the former principal.

The report said: "Tensions remain within the proprietor body.

"Trustees are divided in what needs to happen to improve the school."

Plans for improving education and safeguarding at the school were initially rejected by the Department for Education, inspectors said, but planning and practices were now improving.

Inspectors said staff had "greater confidence" leaders could "steer this school back on a firmer path to improvement".

But they said it was "very early days" to be assured that the school would consistently meet all of the standards looked at.

Surrey County Council previously suspended new placements at Wemms, and was said by inspectors to be "keen to help" trustees so that pupils got "a better deal".

At the time of writing, the authority had not responded to questions about how many children it currently had placed at the school.

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